A Rainbow Remembered.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father…” James 1:17...
Memories are a gift from God. For instance, remembering the summer that had been a scorcher, the air extra dry. Plants drooped and farmers feared for their crops. Then finally one night the rain came—not as a storm or with beating fury, but gently and tenderly. It continued most of the next day, soaking the ground and saturating thirsty roots. Then, as quickly as it started, it ceased, and the late afternoon sun came out. Memories of holding grandma’s hand that day walking out of the house and into the field fill the mind. “Smell the air,” she said, drawing in a deep breath. “See how tall the daylilies stand, as if they feel stronger.”
“Oh, look,” grandma cried rounding the corner of the barn, “a rainbow!” She spoke about God’s love as she explained the arch of color stretching from horizon to horizon, soaring almost to the zenith.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” she said, kneeling down. “The rain we needed so badly, then the sun, and now this beautiful rainbow.”
When asked, “Do you know what makes a rainbow?” Grandma began tracing the rainbow from end to end, then she suddenly stopped and turning her face and shinning eyes to the child she loved, said: “Of course I do, darling. God made it for us because He loves us so much.”
Take Care.

IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS

The days in which the prophet Hosea worked were characterized by a low level of godliness. Consider the very outset of the writing:

The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
I suggest that you take the time to read “Hosea” in its entirety, as it contains many valuable lessons. However, let’s just quickly note three (3) lessons that come from one specific chapter; chapter 4. Please read that now.
Lesson #1: Ignorance of God is Common (v. 1)
God’s children had enjoyed many manifestations of God’s power in the past. They had profited from His wisdom many times. They were the recipients of many messages from the lips and lives of the prophets. Yet, during the days of Hosea, there was little knowledge of God among His chosen people. Although we are not privy to prophets today, and although we do not live in the age of the miraculous, God has spoken to all men through his Word. He has made Himself and His will known. Yet just as it was then, still today ignorance of God is common.
Lesson #2: Ignorance of God is Often Willful (v. 6, 10)
Note carefully that the people in Hosea’s day had rejected knowledge. Yes, they had left off from heeding God’s counsel. The New King James Version states that they had “ceased obeying the LORD.” You see, these folks were guilty of willful blindness. All those who worship with apostate “churches of Christ” are guilty of the same willful blindness. The truth about the authorized work of the church is not hard to discern… if one is looking with an honest eye. Many who worship with “sound congregations” are also often willfully ignorant about many points of doctrine.
Lesson #3: Ignorance of God is Fatal (v. 6, 7, 9, 10)
Note the penalty the people would incur for their ignorance: God would reject them (6), their glory would be turned into shame (7), they would be punished (9), and their efforts to find satisfaction apart from God would fail (10). The same things await all those who are ignorant of God’s Word today (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:25).
Do not be duped by the wisdom of men! The wisdom of men will profit you nothing (1 Corinthians 1:19). Hear the wisdom of God and learn the lesson well: Ignorance of God’s Word IS NOT bliss.